Reunion

Chapter 6

The woods remained quiet throughout 035's walk. Something he despised and appreciated in equal measure. It gave plenty of room for his thoughts but they were going a mile a minute and he wanted a break. Who the hell were 049 and Jay talking about? Something in him bristled at the thought of the way 049 tensed, preparing for the worst.

He couldn't think of a single reason for it. Sure he'd always been the more reserved of the two of them but this felt like something big. It had to do with the letter, there's nothing else it could be. Despite his worries the cold air soothed him. It reminded him of the early days with Doc, traveling together regardless of the weather.

035's walk took longer than he expected it too, by the time he was home it was nearly dark. The fireplace was empty of its usual lapping flames, the only lights came from upstairs.

Jay was sitting in bed reading one of the books they had gotten from the book store.

Light spilled out from beneath the office door. The near frantic sounds of pen scratching paper telling him that 049 was busy at work. 035 went to bed, naturally falling into the routine they'd created. He was tired from the day's excitement and the bed was comfortable, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

Inside the office 049 fussed with his supplies, his tools needed to be cleaned, reorganized too. So he cleaned and organized over and over until his instruments were sterile and perfectly in place. Everything had to be just right, he couldn't let things go wrong.

He sat back, rapping his knuckles against the desk as he tried to think of another chore to keep himself occupied.

Nothing could go wrong. Nothing.

He ran a hand through his hair. The other reached out for the dead flower that came with the letter. He stared at it a moment, his chest tight before he let out a sigh and sank further into his seat.

He'd go to bed and keep working in the morning, 035 would know if he'd stayed up all night and he couldn't have more distractions. He went to Jay's room and wished him a good night then he was off to bed.

The dark provided good cover, the light of the stars and moon providing enough light to see by. They had no need to turn on their lanterns. Leaves and snow crunched beneath two pairs of feet, the third drifting soundlessly, leaving no footprints behind. The trio had traveled far, walking along dirt trails that no longer existed, be it from lack of use or being covered over by paved roads as time progressed. The quiet of the night was cut through when one of the figures began to whistle. It was a shrill noise, no thought put into the tune of it. Perhaps it was the remembered fragments of a song that had been forgotten, but that didn't matter. It was a noise to fill the quiet, it wasn't meant to be anything more than that.

The whistling continued for awhile, no pattern to the grating noise of it.

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A/N apologies for the wait and the shorter chapter, I'm trying to get back into the groove of writing these two. Thank you for all the support while I was gone it means a lot to me. Not sure when the next chapter will be done but it's already in the works!